Raised panel doors on table saw?

I have found some videos and some websites online showing how people have done this. However, on some raised panel doors there is no differentiation between the beveled portion of the center and the center face. I have seen that there is a way apparently to add a slight vertical drop along the face panel to enhance the design. I was wondering if anyone who be able to inform me as to how to achieve this on a table saw.

10 replies so far

With the “drop” is preferred because it allows straightlines where without it otherwise the bevels wouldfollow variations in panel thickness and operatorstock feeding error.

The “drop” is made using the rip fence set to perhaps 1.5” with a blade elevation of 1/8” or a little less.

Since the panels must be held on end and edgeto make the bevels, a tilted jig which rides onthe rip fence is preferable to tilting the bladein my opinion, especially with contractor sawswhere tilting causes a slight “heeling” of theblade.

Most any book on table saw usage will cover raised panels. Be forewarned, sanding the bevelscan be less that fun and especially so on woodswhich burn easily.

For doing raised panels on the table saw, I made a jig that runs along the fence which is beveled buy 10 degrees and I keep my table saw blade at 90 degrees and then I clamps my panel to the jig and run it along the fence

But before I do this I set my blade about an 1/8 th of an inch high and set my fence to about 2” and run the four faces against the fence creating 1/8” by 1/8” dados(these create the ‘drop’)

Then I set my fence so that it leaves 1/8” on the outside perimeter (with jig) and set my blade to the height that the dados are at (2”) and do that for the four sides

There are a few ways to make a raised panel door and I guess, the best way is what works for you based on experience, gumption and tools available.

Sometimes, it’s just fun to put on your Roy Underhill hat and collarless pirate shirt, sharpen the profile planes and do something the old school way. I’ve made dovetailed boxes by hand even though I own a PC dovetail machine.

The thing I remember about this technique was the incredible amount of time needed to clean up the deep saw cuts across the end grain. The smallest amount missed shows up in the stain application. Plus, the profile gets all distorted from rigorous hand sanding. note: profile sanding blocks do help.

I made a fancy fence jig to hold the panels upright and it still moved a tad. (For Sale – used once)

If you even think about hesitating during the pass, the blade will burn it…. more fun sanding. Lastly, I didn’t care for the way the panel sat in the dado.

Do you have a router?... a router table? IMO -That would be the best way to get good results and you won’t get tennis elbow from hand sanding saw cuts.

Loren mentioned what I found to be the problem: sanding the dang things smooth. It was so much work I haven’t done it that way since then first time. Back then I didn’t have any hand planes, now I do and you might be able to do it more efficiently with them.

I have used a table saw with a support fence/jig a number of times to make raised panels. One of the main reasons for using this method is to prevent chipping and gouging that is often experienced in using router tables and shapers on highly figured wood. Please see my curly maple laundry room project for an example. Also, considerable sanding efforts may be reduced by using a Forrest Woodworker II saw blade.

Have a few projects done on the saw. Made a slider for the fence, with the panel held vertical. Have also done them using a single blade. First cut makes the rabbet, by holding the panel vertical. run the panel on all four edges this way. Since there is nothing being cut off, you still have support after the blade. Next, lay the panel flat on the saw, set the blade to tilt enough to make the Shaker Style angle. Set the fence so that the blade just runs along the bottom of the rabbet. When the cut is made, the waste is just left behind. Have a solid Red Cedar cedar chest as a project, using this way…

the top drawer is a fake one. Two bottom drawers do work, and have thier edges beveled to match the rest of the panels.